When you're looking for UFO's in Nevada then the natural jumping off point is Las Vegas. If you can tear yourself away from this sinner's paradise and hop in your rental car it's easy to head out into no man's land. Take Interstate 15 north for about 45 minutes and then turn left on Highway 93. Ignore the road construction equipment, turn the a/c on high and hit the accelerator (cops have better sense than to come out here) Travel past small towns with names like Alamo and Crystal Springs and then take another left on a small road called Highway 375. You'll want to stop at the intersection cause the Fox film company got the state government to put up a silly sign here that proclaims the road the "Extraterrestrial Highway" and you'll want a picture. Then it's back into the car and the air conditioning as you haul ass past the scenic beauty of the middle of nowhere. Finally when you think you've gone too far you'll come upon the 20 or 30 trailers that make up the town of Rachel Nevada. You've made it. You're in the closest town to Area 51. And this is the point where you discover just how boring being next to a secret military base can be.

After all I drove for nearly 2 hours. I expect some action. I want aliens to be zooming over the barren landscape in hot rod saucers, buzzing overhead like an outer space Richard Petty. Instead all I see is rinky dink trailers and a roadside bar that proclaims itself as "The Little A' Le' Inn." Figuring that the bar is where the action is, I stepped inside it's darken interior ready to do battle with whatever noxious alien beasts that rest inside.

But instead of a Dark Overlord from Planet Z all I see are a couple people that look almost as run down as the town itself. They stare at me for a second, (Vision's of tourist sugarplum dollars dancing in their heads no doubt.) before going back to their beer or pool game. As I walk up to the bar past the walls filled with newspaper reports of UFO sightings and fuzzy Polaroid's of blurry lights I overhear a conversation.

The Lil A' Le' Inn in all it's glory

"The New World Order are just waiting to ...mumble...."

"Yea, the liberal conspiracy is ...mumble, mumble."

What's this? I expected to hear the latest reports of visitors from the skies but instead get treated to a tirade of right wing conspiracy theories. Oh well, you take what you can get. After I perused the menu and ordered the "alien burger" I spend some time looking at the thousands of newspaper clippings and assorted wordage plastered on the walls. The general gist is that UFO's exist, aliens are everywhere, and Bill Clinton is plotting to take over the world with the help of Janet Reno. For a guy who can't keep an extramarital affair secret, Clinton sure has a lot of stuff going on that I never heard about.

Eager to escape the politics I scarfed the alien burger (which wasn't half bad) and headed back out into the desert sun. A quick scan of the town shows that the only other point of interest is a trailer that bills itself as "The Area 51 Research Center" I quickly realize that this must be where the real action is and head on over.

The Area 51 Research Center

Inside the trailer things look a little more like I had hoped. There's pictures and satellite images of Area 51 and lots of T-shirts for sale. (There were T-shirts for sale as well in the Lil A' Le' Inn but the New World Order talk kinda put me off from spending any more money there than I had to) In the back of the trailer a friendly looking guy is giving directions to a couple of German guys who hold real expensive looking 35 millimeter cameras in their hands, and seem ready to snap away at any strange object in the sky. While I fumbled thru the T-shirts and maps I can't help but listen in.

A photo of a sign saying photos are prohibited

"Now you go up that dirt road about 9 miles and then you'll see the guard shack. Make sure you take a picture of the sign that says you can't take pictures. The guards love that."

The German tourists thank the proprietor and exit the Research Center, slamming the trailer door on their way out. I suddenly realize I'm alone with this guy.

"How you doing?" he asks and offers a friendly hand to shake. I calm down a little when I realize

Don Emory, manager of the Area 51 Research Center

this guy is no where near as nuts as the rest of the people I've encountered so far. His name is Don Emory and he took over the place after the founder Glen Campbell got tired of living out in the middle of nowhere (Even if it is next to a top secret military base) Don laughs at our mention of the Lil A' Le' Inn and agrees that their world view is a little "skewed." He's a right personably guy and he shows up around the trailer pointing out interesting artifacts here and there.

He explains that the "Research Center" was started in 1993 after his boss Glenn Campbell (no, not the country singer) was kicked out of the Lil' A' Le' Inn when the drunk and heavily armed owner became convinced that Glenn was a secret agent (It was never made clear if Glen was working for the communists or the Federal Government) Glen promptly set up shop as far away from the bar as possible. (which in Rachel is about a 1/4 of a mile.) From here he tried to bring a voice of reason to the endless speculation about the secret base in Area 51 that sits next door. Finally after the alien pop culture explosion of the late 90's finally made any research a non issue, Glen decided to leave and left Don in charge of the trailer and it's collection of information. Besides the trailer there's also a very extensive website at www.ufomind.com and a thriving mail order book business.

Don explains that most of the employees that work in Area 51 don't even live in Rachel, but instead commute in on daily flights by 737 airplanes known as "Janet flights." Other employees that live closer come in to the base on a bus that is easy to spot as it leaves a cloud of dust in it's wake. Besides being the closest town to the base, there's not much else Rachel is known for.

One of the many Janet planes that take employees from Vegas to Groom Lake

Area 51 employee's on the way to work

When I ask him how close I can get to the base I get a sad answer. It's impossible for the public to see the Groom Lake base in Area 51 from any vantage point. The last public vantage point was taken away when the government bought the land on a mountain that overlooked the base. You can drive up a dirt road to its border and take pictures of the guards called "cammo dudes." and the warning signs that say things like "Use of deadly force authorized beyond this point.". When I asked him how often tourists do such a thing he gives me a grin and a shrug. "It's become like Disneyworld."

The "cammo dudes" that guard the border of Area 51

Neither Don nor his boss Glenn have ever seen a UFO while out here for the past 6 years. But a lack of activity doesn't seem to slow things down at all. Don reckons that during the summer the town gets 20 or so visitors a day, all of them looking for E.T. or his brother. "Most of them just wanna come out here cause they've heard about it on TV or seen that movie Independence Day. I'm happy to sell 'em a shirt for their trouble but I think most of them are disappointed that there isn't more to see."

Survelliance equipment overlook the road to Area 51

Saying good-bye to Don, I take one last look at the collection of trailers out in the Nevada desert and then get into the car for the 150 mile drive back toward Las Vegas. Rachel disappears quickly behind me and I concentrate on the road, still looking up at the sky every now and then, just in case an alien decides to give me a show. A mile out of town I come upon the German tourists who have pulled to the side of the road and are taking pictures of themselves. Behind them is mile after mile of nothing in particular.

sources

Interview with Don Emory August 14th, 2000